One of the biggest problems accompanying the shift to mobile computing, specifically to phones, was the sheer number of different handsets, each with its own special quirks. This required marketers to product new creative for each system. To fix this issue, the MRAID (Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions) specification was developed in 2011.

According to IAB, “This specification has provided in-app advertising the means to create compelling rich media ad experiences at scale. The promise of MRAID allowed ad designers to write a creative once, and have it run in any application on any platform that was MRAID capable.”

We are now at MRAID 3.0, which aims to improve the user experience for consumers as well as for ad designers.

You will recognize these definitions as largely in alignment with new theories of digital advertising that place a larger emphasis on transparency, on metrics (although they may not yet be the correct ones), and on user control of video and audio. A big issue over the last year has been the standardization of the close button, which now must be visible and unambiguously placed, so users can get accustomed to being able to close unwanted ads.